


Dirty

by Eustacia Vye (eustaciavye)



Category: The Little Mermaid (Disney)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-06-04
Updated: 2009-06-04
Packaged: 2017-10-07 00:48:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/59560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eustaciavye/pseuds/Eustacia%20Vye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She loves being human, but sometimes Ariel remembers being a mermaid.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dirty

**Author's Note:**

> For aliaspiral's [Slacker's Remix Deux](http://aliaspiral.livejournal.com/251548.html).  
> **Original Author and Fic:** [a porn battle ficlet](http://community.livejournal.com/iwrotethat/57827.html) by anenko.

She dreams of the water.

Ariel takes joy in the simple things, in walking and sunlight on her skin. She loves the sound of Eric laughing, the dog barking, the birds chirping as they settle in the garden. She loves the feel of soft earth beneath her hands, the flowers that bloom in the sun and only the sun. She loves the textures of the foods that the cook prepares in the palace, because they're so different from what she had been used to. Dining manners and decorum and court etiquette were easy to learn, as they really weren't so very different than court beneath the sea. Specifics were different, but not intent. Royalty is royalty, no matter where it is.

They allow her the gardening quirk. She had thought of pitching an unholy tantrum if she couldn't, but Eric had actually shouted down the counselors that would have denied her. "Ariel saved my life. She gave up being a mermaid for me. You _will_ allow her gardening if she wants to do it!"

And so she gardens. She walks in bare feet and plays with the earth, feeling the dirt between her fingers and the sun on her skin. It's fun to play in the dirt, to feel things grow. It's fun getting dirty. It's fun seeing Eric smile at her fondly when she tracks mud back into the palace. It's fun seeing his desire grow when she draws the bath and lets the simple dress fall from her body in front of him.

_I gave up a world for you,_ she thinks, feeling the water between her fingers. _And you've given me a different one in return._

Still, at night, with Eric's head pillowed between her breasts, she dreams of water. It slips and slides past her fins, gives her speed and motion. Water is fluid, sensual and sure. Water was her element long before dirt and air, long before she had dreamed of what Eric might be.

She tells him of her dream one night, covered in mud and dirt and insecurity. Had she made the right decision? Should she have done it? Should she try to reverse it? What would Eric think? Would he be mad at her?

Eric sits on the edge of the bathtub, fingers trailing in the water. "Do you regret marrying me?" he asks, voice soft and sad. He can't meet her eyes, doesn't want to see what the answer might be in her expression.

"Never," Ariel gasps, not realizing the insinuation that had been in her words. "I just... I remember different things than you do as a child. I can't join in on the talks you have. I did different things. I _was_ different." She sits down beside him and takes his hands in hers. "I don't want you to regret marrying _me."_

He turns to her then, face serious. "I could never do that, Ariel," he whispers. "You're everything I ever wanted." He kisses her softly, gently. He had always been gentle, as if her human body would break if he pushed too hard, as if she would disappear. "I want you to be happy."

"I'm dirty," Ariel blurts, looking at their twined hands. "You're going to get filthy."

"King's prerogative," he tells her, lips twisted in a wry smile. He looks at her then, really looks at the flush of her cheeks and the shadow of her curves beneath the simple dress. "I have an idea. I think I can make you feel like a mermaid again without having to undo the magic."

Ariel leans forward. "So I don't lose you or myself?"

"Exactly."

She lies beneath the surface of the water, and his fingers are inside her. Her legs are above the water's edge, feeling the air they craved for. Ariel can see the rippling form of Eric above her, the phantom prince she had fallen for. The heat curls inside her, water and wetness slick on Eric's fingers as they work her from the inside out.

Ariel can't breathe the water anymore, but she almost thinks she can. She almost thinks she can draw the scent of him through the bath, the feel of his soul within her heart.

She chokes when she comes, when she is drawn up into his arms, gasping. It doesn't make sense, air or water, hair in her face, Eric's muscled chest pressed against her breasts. She's some phantom thing, caught between human and mermaid, air or water, something soft and fleshy that simply pretends to be a creature of the world.

And then her heart slows, and breathing again makes sense. "Oh," she whispers. "Oh."

He chuckles then, rocking her. He cradles her wet head against his chest, much as he had when they thought they were about to die together. "I think that works," he murmurs against her hair.

"I should get dirty more often," Ariel replies, and is warmed by Eric's laughter.


End file.
